


Inevitability

by PadawanRyan



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst and Feels, Angst and Tragedy, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Gen, Heavy Angst, M/M, Parenthood, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:22:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29888661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PadawanRyan/pseuds/PadawanRyan
Summary: He was so many things: a son, a partner, a father. He was a friend, a boss, an irritant, a genius, playboy, billionaire, philanthropist. All of the things he was, well, those were inevitable too. What made Thanos so special in that regard?------------In his final moments, Tony Stark thinks about what he has lost, gained, and what he needs to do to protect the ones he loves most.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	Inevitability

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by WandaVision, I have been rewatching the entire MCU and this little oneshot came to me suddenly at the beginning of Endgame—the scene where Tony steps off the ship and Steve runs to him, and he tells Steve that he lost the kid. I have spent many years reading various Stony fics where Tony is Peter's real father, so this scene immediately seemed to me like 1) Steve running immediately to the man he loved and thought he had lost, and 2) Tony expressing grief for the son he had failed to protect.
> 
> So, this whole fic basically revolves around that precise feeling: having lost Peter, and the ensuing angst and guilt. It's an AU of course where Steve and Tony were together before Civil War and are together again in Endgame, so Morgan is their child. Although it doesn't go into the specifics - they weren't necessary for Tony's angsting - I imagine that Pepper did act as the surrogate for them and still plays a large role in the family. However, since that is not mentioned in the fic and I am no JKR, you can interpret it any way you want. Spoilers: in the death scene from the movie, Pepper is replaced with Steve.
> 
> I have actually never written a Stony fic, despite reading it for approximately 10 years now. Hell, the last Marvel fic I wrote was a Thorki...10 years ago. But, inspiration strikes in the most random places and I couldn't ignore this one.

This was it. This was what his career, his whole life – _everything_ – had been leading up to. There would be no going back after this.

It was one of those moments when your life flashes before your eyes. Chaos ensued around him and physically, his eyes were on the Titan standing before him, but all he could see was them: his parents, Jarvis, Obie, Rhodey, Pepper, Steve, all of the Avengers, and…

Peter.

The boy, clinging onto him for his very life - literally - while crying, scared. And Tony couldn’t do a damn thing for him.

He failed him—failed everyone.

Rationally, he knew that it wasn’t actually his fault, but he could still feel the way the boy just disintegrated in his arms. Tony never got the chance to tell him everything, never got the chance to tell him he loved him, and then he was…gone. Everyone was gone—Strange, Quill, the literal blue meanie of a Stone Cold Steve Austin. He was all alone, lightyears away from the people who needed him, having failed the one person who needed him most.

But really, it was his fault, wasn’t it? Because he was the one who brought Peter to Germany.

He was the one who gave Peter the suit.

He was the one who gave the kid an option to become an Avenger. Although Peter had turned him down, Tony still offered. And well, Peter had come immediately to battle, hadn’t he? By encouraging him, Tony led to his demise.

There had been plenty of time to come to terms with it while stuck in space upon the ship with Nebula. She helped keep him sane, but that didn’t stop him from wallowing. It was what he deserved—to die alone in space the moment oxygen ran out. He would never get to say goodbye to them – to Rhodey, to Pepper, to Steve, _to Peter_ – but that was his comeuppance. Captain Marvel should never have brought him back, but Tony wasn’t an idiot—he saw an opportunity where one had been given.

This was his chance to make things right.

Yet, at the same time, he was all burnt out from everything he had lost. Steve rushed to him the moment he stepped down from the ship, and it was nice to see that even after everything that had happened in Siberia, he still cared about Tony. But all he could think about was Peter—the child that he never acknowledged in order to keep him safe.

He tried not to choke up as he told Steve, “I lost the kid.” He lost the kid. Peter was _gone_ and Tony had failed to protect him.

At first, it felt almost blasphemous to have another child.

Pete wasn’t _replaceable_.

Steve reminded him that he couldn’t wallow, that you just had to move on. Tony was resistant—Steve wasn’t a father, so he couldn’t possibly understand how Tony felt. But that didn’t stop the super soldier from reminding him, and eventually…Tony believed him.

He was never going to believe he hadn’t played a role in Peter’s death, but _maybe_ he did deserve to try again.

So, when Steve and the rest of them – Bruce, Natasha, the bug – decided that they wanted to bring everyone back, Tony was again resistant. He didn’t want to relive Peter’s death, continuously be reminded of his failure when they inevitably failed again—not now, after he had finally managed to move on. Even more than that, he refused to lose another child.

He would not gamble away Morgan just for some slim chance to save Peter.

But he was Tony Stark, so once the idea was put into his head, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. So, inevitably – that was the word that kept coming back to them, over and over again – he managed to figure out what nobody else had: time travel.

Tony had figured out _time travel_.

And _he could_ _save Pete._

They couldn’t not do it— _he_ couldn’t not do it. Strange had told him that there was one reality where they win, right?

He had to try.

And the absolute wave of relief that washed over him when he watched everyone step though those portals onto the battlefield and he saw Peter amongst them…nothing could compare to that. There was, of course, terror – Peter was entering into an even more dangerous fight than the one he’d been lost in, how the hell would Tony keep him safe this time? – but he was _alive_ , and that was all that mattered. Peter was there and he was scared – Tony could see the tremors as the boy realized what he walked into – but he was smiling and _breathing_ and Tony couldn’t resist hugging him.

He was not going to let anything happen to the boy again, no matter what happened. No matter what it took. This was his second chance to make sure that _both_ of his children survived, and he was not going to waste it—not for Morgan and not for Peter.

So, he did not hesitate – knowing precisely the cost – to don the glove and do what needed to be done. “I am inevitable,” the mad Titan had said.

And Tony?

He was so many things: a son, a partner, a father. He was a friend, a boss, an irritant, a genius, playboy, billionaire, philanthropist. All of the things he was, well, those were inevitable too. What made Thanos so special in that regard?

But, most importantly, he was—

“I am Iron Man.”

There was a chaos. There was celebration. The Titan dusted away before him, but Tony barely even noticed. He couldn’t focus on the relief or joy around him, due to the overwhelming pain and his inability to move, but that didn’t mean he didn’t share the sentiment. As Peter approached him, excitedly telling him that they had won, Tony felt nothing but joy and relief because he’d done it: he saved his son. He saved his daughter.

He saved _everyone_ , no matter the cost.

Peter’s excitement soon turned to grief as he realized precisely what that cost was, and soon the boy was crying on him. Tony wished he could console him, and as Steve approached him, all he wanted to do was ask him to _keep them safe_.

Of course, he would never have to ask. Steve would do it anyway.

And then soon…

Light faded to darkness. The voices and sobs around him turned fuzzy, inaudible, until there was silence. His senses had dulled, and there was…nothing.

The last thing he could remember feeling, the last thought that went through his head, was that this was not what he expected. He always thought death would be more painful, but even the pain had since dulled too. There was nothing left but this brightness in his chest, this vibrant pulsing that slowed and slo…w…ed as though totally natural. Everything in his life had been fast, always speeding toward something, but this felt…calm. Warm.

He was at peace.

* * *

_“Mr. Rogers, Captain, Mr. America—Steve. Steve! He’s breathing! Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark…Steve! Oh my god, ohmygodohmygodohmy—”_

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on social media! I'm **padawanryan** on [Tumblr](https://padawanryan.tumblr.com/), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/PadawanRyan), and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/padawanryan/). ✌️


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